"Go and do likewise."
In a recently published book by Pope Benedict XVI, we share in reading one man’s personal journey of discovery. Jesus of Nazareth is the first of what might be a two or three volume writing by the Holy Father. In one of the early chapters Joseph Ratzinger, as he lists his name, calls to our attention that what might well be suited to the present Lucan story of the Good Samaritan.
This chapter, written a couple of years before his election as Pope, points out that what is truly significant about the Jesus he has come to know is this: what he learned and consequently what he taught was not learned in classes with a rabbi or any other learned human being. What he learned came from his unique role in prophetic history — for Jesus was indeed a prophet — calling people to the way, the truth and the light.
What was unique about this man’s prophetic role? Jesus was the first prophet — a person in prayer directly with the Father — even the Old Testament Books such as Deuteronomy and Exodus indicate to have a role different from all the other prophets, even Moses. Jesus would be, as Pope Benedict notes, the new Moses who would come face to face with God and to learn from those moments of genuine dialog with God, his Divine Father.
The Pope makes clear that he believes it was during those times when the Jesus would spend a night in prayer or go off to the desert to be alone, in prayer that he would learn from the Father what the Father’s will was for him and for the people. Ratzinger writes that it is those moments that we should study to better understand the uniqueness of the man Jesus. So, let’s examine today’s reading from St. Luke with this background in mind.
Imagine that Jesus had spent another day or evening in prayer with his Father before he was challenge by one of the scholars of the law about the conditions for inheriting eternal life. It would seem, then, if these personal meetings were the moments of learning what the Father wants for us, then to hear Jesus begin his response with the quotation from the law and then move into the story of the Good Samaritan we might try to understand his words as the result of something Jesus had been taught by the Father for us.
How can I inherit eternal life was a frequent question in the days of Jesus. People just like you and me wanted to know how do I get to that new life that never ends, that life of peace and happiness. The earlier prophets and Jesus were saying what God wanted the information seekers to know about eternal life: you achieve that goal by (1) loving God with all that we are and (2) by loving our neighbor as ourselves. So, it would seem that love of God and neighbor were not just two pious platitudes that Jesus thought up during this debate with the scholar. At some point, it would seem, the Father must has told Jesus this is the way to salvation for the people.
So, this story of the Good Samaritan is truly a challenging story to all of us and, I think, more so now than in many years. At a time in our nation when there we find ourselves confronted by an enemy we have never encountered before – no group has ever made vows to destroy the American dream – we are face to face with handling another group of human being who wants to see an end to all that I have. Also at our time we are confronted with dealing with other human beings who have crossed the line, quietly and not so quietly coming into our country.
If any of us Anglo-Saxon types came upon a man or a woman of a darker complection and saw that person in need, what would we do? What would you do? Would you ask questions first or would you try to help that person? Would you want to know if that person was legally in this country? Would you want to know if this person followed all of the laws? In short, would we be like the priest and the Levite who came upon the man who was the victim of robbers on his way to Jericho? Would you go over to the other side of the street so that you would not have to deal with that man or woman? This is not an easy position for most Americans today. This is a situation which challenges all that we are taught not just by teachers but by the man who met with his Father to learn the road to salvation.
The greatest treasure that most of us have today is our time. Perhaps the story of the Good Samaritan would best be told today in relation to how we give away our time and to who we give it. How about a friend or a youngster who might be having troubles: do you wait for that person to come seeking help? Do you offer helping even before you are asked? Visiting a sick person is another challenge to our time needs. How about someone in our own families who might be in great inner agony who just cannot express his or her hurting? What can be said about our nation today is that there are so many people who need a friendly word much more than they need our money.
It seems to me that in one of the quality time moments between Jesus and his Father the topic must have been to teach the people how to open their hearts to others. Clearly this is how Jesus lived even though there were times when he had to be firm, when he had to confront, when he had to challenge people to follow the law. But what was never mission was his open heart even to those who challenged him.
So, if we wish to be like Jesus, if we wish to be one of his disciples, we must follow his words to the scholar after telling him the Samaritan story: "Go and do likewise."
This chapter, written a couple of years before his election as Pope, points out that what is truly significant about the Jesus he has come to know is this: what he learned and consequently what he taught was not learned in classes with a rabbi or any other learned human being. What he learned came from his unique role in prophetic history — for Jesus was indeed a prophet — calling people to the way, the truth and the light.
What was unique about this man’s prophetic role? Jesus was the first prophet — a person in prayer directly with the Father — even the Old Testament Books such as Deuteronomy and Exodus indicate to have a role different from all the other prophets, even Moses. Jesus would be, as Pope Benedict notes, the new Moses who would come face to face with God and to learn from those moments of genuine dialog with God, his Divine Father.
The Pope makes clear that he believes it was during those times when the Jesus would spend a night in prayer or go off to the desert to be alone, in prayer that he would learn from the Father what the Father’s will was for him and for the people. Ratzinger writes that it is those moments that we should study to better understand the uniqueness of the man Jesus. So, let’s examine today’s reading from St. Luke with this background in mind.
Imagine that Jesus had spent another day or evening in prayer with his Father before he was challenge by one of the scholars of the law about the conditions for inheriting eternal life. It would seem, then, if these personal meetings were the moments of learning what the Father wants for us, then to hear Jesus begin his response with the quotation from the law and then move into the story of the Good Samaritan we might try to understand his words as the result of something Jesus had been taught by the Father for us.
How can I inherit eternal life was a frequent question in the days of Jesus. People just like you and me wanted to know how do I get to that new life that never ends, that life of peace and happiness. The earlier prophets and Jesus were saying what God wanted the information seekers to know about eternal life: you achieve that goal by (1) loving God with all that we are and (2) by loving our neighbor as ourselves. So, it would seem that love of God and neighbor were not just two pious platitudes that Jesus thought up during this debate with the scholar. At some point, it would seem, the Father must has told Jesus this is the way to salvation for the people.
So, this story of the Good Samaritan is truly a challenging story to all of us and, I think, more so now than in many years. At a time in our nation when there we find ourselves confronted by an enemy we have never encountered before – no group has ever made vows to destroy the American dream – we are face to face with handling another group of human being who wants to see an end to all that I have. Also at our time we are confronted with dealing with other human beings who have crossed the line, quietly and not so quietly coming into our country.
If any of us Anglo-Saxon types came upon a man or a woman of a darker complection and saw that person in need, what would we do? What would you do? Would you ask questions first or would you try to help that person? Would you want to know if that person was legally in this country? Would you want to know if this person followed all of the laws? In short, would we be like the priest and the Levite who came upon the man who was the victim of robbers on his way to Jericho? Would you go over to the other side of the street so that you would not have to deal with that man or woman? This is not an easy position for most Americans today. This is a situation which challenges all that we are taught not just by teachers but by the man who met with his Father to learn the road to salvation.
The greatest treasure that most of us have today is our time. Perhaps the story of the Good Samaritan would best be told today in relation to how we give away our time and to who we give it. How about a friend or a youngster who might be having troubles: do you wait for that person to come seeking help? Do you offer helping even before you are asked? Visiting a sick person is another challenge to our time needs. How about someone in our own families who might be in great inner agony who just cannot express his or her hurting? What can be said about our nation today is that there are so many people who need a friendly word much more than they need our money.
It seems to me that in one of the quality time moments between Jesus and his Father the topic must have been to teach the people how to open their hearts to others. Clearly this is how Jesus lived even though there were times when he had to be firm, when he had to confront, when he had to challenge people to follow the law. But what was never mission was his open heart even to those who challenged him.
So, if we wish to be like Jesus, if we wish to be one of his disciples, we must follow his words to the scholar after telling him the Samaritan story: "Go and do likewise."
